VW TRIVIA

- By Herschel D. -

1. Q: What VW model is being referred to in the term "Pretzel Window?"
   A: "Pretzel Window" is what Europeans call the pre-March 10^th, 1953 VW Beetle’s 2-piece "split" rear window.

2. Q: What type of front suspension does a type 4 have?
   A: The Type 4 VW had the same McPherson strut front suspension as the Super Beetle.

3. Q: If a Beetle’s third gear is direct drive, what is 4^th gear?
   A: The 4^th gear in an air-cooled Beetle is an overdrive gear. That means that the differential is turning faster than 3^rd gear which turns the differential at the same speed as the engine.

4. Q: What VW model is a "Trekker?"
   A: A "Trekker" is what the Type 181 "Thing" is known as in Europe. In South American, it is a "Safari."

5. Q: In what model year did VW last offer "safari windows" on the VW bus?
   A: The last model year that VW supplied those popular but leaky swing out front windshield "Safari" windows, on Type 2s as a current item was 1959. That means that all of the many 1960s buses that have them are technically retrofits!

6. Q: What does "Kraft durch Friede" mean in German?
   A: "Kraft durch Friede" is German for "strength through joy." This was the name of the Nazi labor front that managed the sales plan of the early 1938-45 Beetle which was then known as the Kdf-Wagen, officially and Volkswagen (Peoples car) generically (behind Hitler’s back).

1. When Major Ivan Hurst turned over the running of the VW factory to Heinz Nordoff in 1948, he was presented a large-scale hand made model of a VW Beetle. Who built that model?
2. In what year did the VW Beetle finally get an electric defroster in its rear window?
3. When did VW add back up lights to the Beetle as standard equipment?
4. What was the first model year of the U.S. importation of the Type 3 Fastback?
5. When did the VW get an automatic choke?
6. In what model year was it no longer possible to buy a new model air-cooled VW bus?